Feathered Ballet Dancers
by Sdb5ss
Summary: A boy named Fakir writes 3 birds, a crow, a swan, and a duck into humans, unknowingly setting an adventure into play. Now he must help the newborn humans get used to their new world. Powers are unlocked and friendships get put to the test. A war must eventually come to an end, but can it ever stop with a puppet master pulling at the strings? Even when he is supposed to be helping?
1. A Boy Creates Something

_**A creative story I thought of. It was born from the other possibilities of what Princess Tutu might have looked like.** _

Chapter 1: A Boy Creates Something

Once upon a time, there was a small town named Golden Crown Town. It was part of a large kingdom that was famous for the incredible population of birds. More birds, than even people. It was nestled in the southern east side of the kingdom. The creatures there were plenty and unusual, ranging from ant-eaters to cats. Some of the animals established their own domains. The most famous one was the one ruled by the swans. Swans were naturally elegant and graceful creatures, but what made their dominion so liked was the prince that led them. He was kind and noble, and would never fail to protect someone. There was a saying about him; a prince who loved everyone-who was also loved by everyone. But even royals have their faults. The prince had a mortal enemy. His foe was known only as the Raven, leader of the crows. As loving and pure the prince was, the Raven was cruel and evil. The Raven wished to eat all hearts and waged war against the prince. It was not uncommon to see a swan and crow fighting in the air. Truly, it was a kingdom with deep mysteries.

An old man named Drosselmeyer first founded the land. Although that does sound a little odd for a person to "found the land", he did literally create it. Drosselmeyer had an unusual power that let his stories come true. Students from the age of four have memorized by heart the epic feats of how Drosselmeyer wrote the kingdom into existence and how he turned into its eternal guardian, even after he died. Rumors among children and gossiping townsfolk is that Drosselmeyer still controls everything even in the after life from the tallest tower in Golden Crown Town. Despite all that has happened in the past, nothing in the present was in danger. All seemed peaceful. Obviously though, appearances aren't always what they seem.

Golden Crown Town was surrounded by a large wall, "for protection", Drosselmeyer had said. Outside the wall was a lake called Zetsubō no Mizūmi, or the Lake of Despair. Although that is such a dreary name, in reality it was teeming with life. It was a safe haven for all who decided to rest there and collect their thoughts. Not too far from it was a dock and cabin. A boy walked out of the cabin and sat on a rocking chair on the dock. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. He was fifteen years old, with green eyes, and dark green hair. An invisible weight pressed on his mind, but for now he ignored it. All he wished for was quiet.

Meanwhile, the birds were starting to get into action. The prince was flying with his flock after a successful battle against the crows. They were tired and in need of some well deserved rest. Out of the corner of his eye, the prince spotted a clear lake enclosed with trees. He decided that they should stop there, and swan-dived to the area. The rest of the flock followed. Graceful wings flapped gently as they made contact with the water. The prince announced that he would be scouting the area for any signs of danger. After a few squawks of approval, the prince went out.

In the air, a crow was flying for her life. There were deep cuts all over her body, and she was falling in her flight every few seconds. She breathed with labored breaths. Her father had caused this pain. He was angry that she had lost the battle against the swans. She was the leader of the attack and was expected to lead them to victory. To settle his rage, he tore at her with his humongous claws. Wallowing in anger and sadness, she ran away from home. Now she was regretting her decision. She was losing altitude. It would not be long before she would plummet to her death. Why must the Raven be so mean? All she could do was wonder. The crow knew that her time would be up soon if she didn't do something. The crow looked down and saw a lake below her. She had to go down there. It was her only chance.

A duck let out a sigh. She was floating on Zetsubō no Mizūmi in a bit of a daze. Her life was incredibly boring. Nothing exciting ever happened. It didn't help that there was almost no other people here that would talk to her, just because she was a duck. The loneliness was starting to get to her. Suddenly something hit her head, and she was dunked in the water.

"Ow. That hurt. What happened?" the duck asked herself. She resurfaced and rubbed her sore head. After making sure she didn't have a bump, the duck swam in the direction of the thing that hit her. She saw an unmoving black heap lying on the grass. She got as close as she could and gently poked the heap. "Hello? Are you okay?" she asked. The heap moved a bit and moved its head. It revealed itself to be a crow. The duck gasped because she had never seen a crow at the lake, or at all in her life. "You're a crow!"

"Obviously" the crow replied. She tried to push herself up, but was barely able to move.

"Oh. Let me help you with that. You probably can't move cause you're hurt. That's it. I mean, you have so many cuts so that makes it painful to go everywhere. Duh. That has to be it. Sometimes I can be so stupid" the duck rambled while dragging the Raven's daughter closer to the waterside. "There we are" the duck cheerfully said. The crow dipped the tips of her wings in the cool water. A pained look crossed her face, but nothing more.

As the duck was deciding what to do about the crow, a presence made itself known among themselves. The duck turned around to see a swan behind them. He was serene and quite handsome. The duck fell in love with him in an instant.

"Is everything alright?" the swan asked. The duck grew flustered and her answer was stammered.

"W-w-w-well, u-uh, you see, I was just taking care of this crow w-who was injured. She h-hit me on the head, but I still helped her."

"Why did I say that? It makes me sound big and stupid" the duck cried in her head.

"A crow?" the swan asked. He tilted his head in such a way that it made the duck squeal on the inside.

"Yes, a crow" the crow said darkly, bringing the attention to her. The swan did not say anything, and neither did the duck, but it was easy to see the tension in the air. The swan took notice of the crow's injuries and held up one of her wings.

"These cuts are deep. They might get infected. We should find something or someone to help you" he told her. His voice was caring and the crow felt her walls fall down.

"Maybe. But there is nothing that can heal me here" she admitted.

"Actually, I know this human place nearby that could help you, or something" the duck said.

"You want me to go to the humans? They are savages! They would cook any bird that came near" the crow exclaimed.

"I will protect you if they try to hurt you. I want you to get better" the swan told her.

"Even though I'm a crow?" the crow asked hesitantly.

"Although we are enemies, I would not like to see a bird die in such an dishonorable way."

The duck was confused about why the swan and crow were enemies, but she was happy she was able to help.

"I guess we will be traveling together now. Don't worry, I'll get you there safe and sound" the duck cheered. She started swimming in a new direction while the prince who held the crow followed.

Thoughts flowed through the boy's head while he reclined on his chair. Spring was coming, and the boy did not have any plans.

"Maybe I should write some stories" he mused. A quack vibrated in the air. The boy was brought out of his thoughts, and got out of his chair to investigate. A cute duck with big, icy, blue eyes and yellow feathers swam up to the duck. She quacked again, this time louder. He knelt down.

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be so trusting of strangers" he told her. The duck let out a small quack. Then she motioned to something to come out of the reeds. The boy stared as a swan came out of the reeds with a crow in its wings.

"How odd. A swan and a crow together, but they're not fighting" the boy thought. The swan came closer to the boy and held out the crow. The boy picked up the crow, and examined her wounds. He made a frown as he saw how deep the cuts were.

"You want me to take the crow?" he asked. The duck quacked in response. He sighed and held his hand to his forehead.

"Fine, I will. Just come back to get it tomorrow." The swan started to leave, but the duck flew to the duck and landed close to the boy.

"You're coming too?" the boy said with small mirth. The duck quaked and nodded her head. The swan realized what was happening and flew to the duck's side.

"Oh great, you're also coming. Sure, it'll be like a sleepover." The boy walked to the cabin while the birds trailed behind him.

The boy opened the door of his cabin. Inside was a small blue bed by the left side of the room. Next to the doorway was a desk that faced a window. The was a table with one chair at the left side of the wall, also by a window. A laundry basket was at the right side of the cabin all the way in the back. A closet was on the left side of the bed. The only light there was a lantern that hung overhead, and a candle on the desk.

"I'll get you some bread to eat while you settle in" the boy declared. When he was out of the room, the birds started to explore the area. The crow found interest in the desk with various inks and quills on it, the prince took notice of a hidden sword in the closet, and the duck found that the bed had captured her attention. They all assembled on the floor as they waited for the boy to come back. When he arrived, he scattered pieces of the bread on the floor. The birds ate it ravenously, and contently sighed when they finished. The boy rolled his eyes.

"So now that you're done eating, and you have your strength back, we're going to help this crow get better. Walk behind me while I set everything up" the boy instructed them.

The boy took a pail that was outside the cabin, and brought it with him to the lake. The birds stood on the grass and watched him go. He filled the pail with water to the brim, and carried it back to where the fowls were waiting. He ordered the duck to get a cloth from the cabin. She returned with it and placed it in his hands. With the cloth in his hand, the boy plucked the crow and put her in the water. She desperate flapped her wings in a struggle to stay on top. The boy realized his mistake, and instead held the bird in his hand. He pushed the cloth into the water and squeezed its contents onto the crow. He rubbed the cloth back and forth as he cleaned out her wounds. When he was sure he did a good job, he released her back to the other birds. The crow had to admit that she felt a lot better.

"Now it's you're turn" the boy said to his other patients. He repeated the same process with the swan and duck, but did not hold them since they were aquatic birds.

After they were all clean, the boy brought them back to the cabin to feed them again. He fed them leftover fish from one of his trips on the lake. Then he wrapped a bandage around the crow's body. Meanwhile, the sun was setting in the distance. The boy observed this and decided he would have dinner for himself. He ate his meal in peace and watched how the birds were interacting with each other. They seemed to enjoy each other's company. The swan honked every now and then, but the most noise came from the crow and the duck. Specifically, the duck. The boy smiled at this. He also noticed that the crow was warming up to the swan. His eyes wandered to his desk. What if he wrote a story about them? This piqued his interest. The boy walked to his desk and tapped on the wood. What should he say? When he figured out what he wanted, he began to write.

 _Once upon a time, there were three birds. One of them was a handsome, prince swan who cared about everyone deeply. Another of them was a beautiful, black crow who held a secret almost no one knew. The last of them was an awkward, kind duck who always seemed to know how to cheer people up. The prince was protected by a knight that served him day and night. The knight wanted the prince to become a human so that the prince would be safer. The crow and duck agreed that this would be a good idea, and also wanted to become human. The duck and the crow were in love with the prince, and each gave him a feather to remind him that they were by his side, no matter what form. The threesome eventually became humans, but were corrupted with human desires. The girl who was once a crow grew jealous of all who the prince talked to and claimed that he was her's. The prince lost his emotions and forgot about his friends. The girl who was once a duck took a feather that had once been the swan's and became a swan herself. She tried to remind the prince that he once had feelings, but to no avail. Eventually the crow became so jealous that she killed the prince and herself so that they could be together. Heartbroken, the girl who was once a duck and the knight mourned for the days they once shared. Hearing their cries, the prince and the girl who was once a crow and swan came back from the dead in the form of birds. The knight and the girl who was once a duck were overjoyed. Then they realized though, that they could not speak to each other, for two of them were birds, and two were humans..._

The boy finished his story and frowned. He did not wish for this to turn into a tragedy, but the words just wrote themselves. It was like he was trying to be the author, but someone else was controlling him.

"Like a puppet" he thought darkly. An old voice chuckled, and the boy turned his head to see who laughed. No one was there except for him and the birds.

"Don't worry about what you write. I will be taking things from here. You're story was nice, but was lacking all the good traits that a story needs. I'll take some parts of it, but that will be all you will see that is yours" the voice said to the boy in his mind.

The boy shook his head, thinking he was imagining. He looked out the window and saw that the stars and moon were out. He let out a yawn and stretched his arms.

"Okay guys. It's time for bed" he told the swan, duck, and crow. He took an extra blanket from his closet and put it on the floor. The birds lied on it and curled up next to each other. The swan was all around the crow and duck so they made a little ball. The boy smiled and put on his pajamas. After he put his clothes in the laundry, he got into bed and said good night.

That night the temperature dropped nearly ten degrees. The birds were cold, but they didn't want to disturb the boy sleeping. Finally the duck had enough and got up from the circle. She waddled to the bed and climbed up the bedpost. She scooted to the right side of the boy and snuggled under the blanket. She felt instant warmth. The prince had felt the shifting the duck caused, and he raised his head to investigate. When he saw that the duck was gone, he got up and looked for her. He smiled when he saw her sleeping next to the boy. He paid close attention to how her cheeks were flushing. The prince knew he would be a lot warmer in the bed, so he flew to the covers and went right next to the duck. He let out a happy sigh. The crow woke up and realized that the people keeping her warm were gone. She groaned as she got up and searched the area. She flew on the bed and was surprised to see that the swan and the duck were sleeping with the human boy. It didn't matter though. She was not going to stay cold. She curled up on the other side of the boy. She wanted to be with the swan, but there was no room left. Soon, everyone was fast asleep.

When the boy woke up the next morning, he stretched his arms out on the bed. His right hand felt something soft. He remembered that the birds got into his bed last night. He was okay with it, he appreciated the warmness. But this softness did not feel like feathers. He grabbed a hold of the softness and saw that it was hair. White hair actually. He looked down and was shocked at what he saw. A girl with long, raven-black hair was sleeping on his left side. A girl with even longer strawberry blonde hair was laying on his right, with a boy with fluffy white hair curled into her. And he took great notice in seeing that they were bare naked! Finally, the boy could not take the disturbance any longer and he screamed, waking the resting tenants.

 _ **Swan dived, ha! I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. This is my best piece of fanfic writing. I know, it's lame. I'm also sorry that I couldn't make the characters talk more. The next chapter will DEFINITELY have lot's of quotation marks. And that boy is Fakir, just in case you were wondering. Oh, and the story Fakir wrote. I admit, also lame. I'm working on it!**_


	2. A New Start

_**I'm so hungry... My mom was cooking chocolate croissants and it smelled so good. *Sigh* I guess I'll just have to wait for all eternity...** _

Chapter 2: A New Start

"What the heck! Who are you!?" the boy shouted.

"Do you have to be so loud?" the girl with strawberry blonde hair muttered. She slid down under the covers. The dancing cowlick on her head poked into the boy's side just between his ribs.

"I don't know you people!" the boy continued.

"There really is no need to shout" the other girl with the raven black hair uttered. She remained motionless despite her sentence striking annoyance in the boy. They were oblivious to the fact that they were naked and practically hugging the surprised boy.

"If it is alright, then I'm going back to sleep. Seems like we were awaken for no reason" the boy with the white hair announced. He closed his eyes and nearly was successful at falling back asleep again when the dark green haired boy threw off the covers.

"Oh no! That's not happening. Either you're going to tell me who you are and what happened to the birds who were with me last night or I'm going to do something you wish I hadn't!"

"What are you talking about? We haven't moved an inch" the girl with the raven hair said. At that point, they finally noticed the difference in their bodies. They were lacking in feathers. They had no beaks. They had hair!

"I-I'm human" the girl with the strawberry blonde hair stated in shock.

"This can't be right" the girl with the raven black hair cried.

"We are the birds from last night" the white haired boy said to the dark greened hair one.

"Okay, so if you really are birds, why are you like this?" he asked suspiciously.

"How are we supposed to know; we only found out this morning!" the raven black haired girl rebutted.

"Well. I'm not going to stay in bed anymore. I'll find you clothes to wear so I don't have to look away every time I speak to you" the boy said with a deep blush as he crawled out of bed. He went to the closet and brought out a white, long sleeved shirt. He picked up the blanket the birds slept on and dusted it off. He gave the shirt to the other boy, and the blanket to the girl with the raven black hair.

"Hey, what about me? Don't forget me!" The girl with the strawberry blonde hair cried.

"Just use the one on the bed" the boy told her. A migraine nagged at the back of his mind. Soon the three tired humans were clothed and protected.

"Now that we're done with this, I need to know your names" the dark green haired boy told them.

"I don't remember my name" the white haired boy admitted.

"Neither do I" joined in the raven black haired girl.

"I never had a name!" the strawberry blonde hair girl added. The dark green hair boy sighed in disbelief.

"Then why don't you name yourselves" he suggested in annoyance.

"Hm, I think I'll be Ahiru. It sounds like me" the strawberry blonde hair girl declared. In other words, she called herself Duck.

"I will be Rue" the raven black hair girl said. Rue is a strong smelling shrub, or it can mean regret. The dark green hair boy turned to the last nameless human.

"I don't know" the boy said quietly. His imagination did not take him far.

"I'll name you then. You will be... Mytho."

"Mytho..." the boy said to himself. A name that means a myth.

"What should we call you? You never told us you're name. It makes you seem weird" Ahiru nagged.

"Fakir" the boy said.

"Huh. Well nice to meet you Fakir."

"Whatever."

Fakir looked Rue, Ahiru, and Mytho over and realized they needed proper clothing soon. "I will get you real clothes to wear. Don't go anywhere, don't do anything. I will be back in fifteen minutes. If anyone comes, do not say anything. I doubt anyone will come though" Fakir declared. The three listeners nodded their heads in obedience. Fakir walked out and went to the wall. Golden Crown Town's guards gave him a once over before letting him proceed. "Where should I go?" Fakir wondered. He tried to think back to the time when his adopted father, Karon, took him shopping. "The central square."

The central square was a circle made up of food, clothing, and tourist stores and shops. Fakir frowned at the chattering girls from the Golden Crown Academy. They glanced at him, whispering how handsome and cool he was. He hurriedly moved away from them to the nearest store. With a sigh of relief, he turned around.

"Hello there!" a lady greeted close to his face. He made a protecting pose in surprise. "Welcome to my ballet boutique. We have everything from pointe shoes to headpieces. Feel free to point to what you like" she continued. He relaxed and waved her off. She watched him from afar as he went through the store. Fakir was used to ballet material. He used to dance himself. He didn't want to buy anything from a girly place.

"I guess this means I will have to get something here" he mused. "I'll have that red dress, tan stockings, and red pointe shoes. I'll also have a black male tights, white slippers, and a white t-shirt. And could I have a white leotard, white tights, and pink training shoes please?"

"Good good. That will be one of the first steps to help the story along" a voice murmured.

"You got it! That will be 40 coins please" the lady replied.

"Stupid ballet clothes are too expensive for their own good" Fakir muttered as he handed over the money.

Fakir walked out of Golden Crown Town with many bags in his hands.

"Fakir! You're back" Ahiru cheered as he came through the door of the cabin.

"What did you expect?"

"Where are our clothes?"

"Here." Ahiru, Mytho, and Rue separated to various places and tried on their new outfits.

"Amazing, they feel just like feathers" Rue commented as they stretched.

"That's the point" Fakir replied knowingly. Fakir suddenly had an idea. "Hey, try coping what I do." Fakir moved into first position, then to second. The perplexed humans followed him. Fakir moved to third, fourth, and fifth. Mytho and Rue preformed it perfectly, but Ahiru struggled to keep her balance.

"Why are we doing this?" Rue asked as Fakir did an arabesque.

"It's ballet. It's when you dance using mostly your legs and feet. You preform stories as you dance."

"That's so interesting, but it's harder than it looks" Ahiru exclaimed.

"Relax, with practice, you'll get better." Fakir smiled at Ahiru, which calmed the duck.

"Is it designed to be light?" Mytho asked.

''Obviously yes."

Mytho smiled at his answer. Rue and Ahiru stared.

"I have a question!" Ahiru piped as she broke her gaze from Mytho.

"What is it?"

"Where are we going to sleep? You said that you didn't want us to be in the same bed, but the ground is really cold."

Fakir blushed at the memory of the cuddling, naked humans. He did realize that Ahiru had a good point. He was not, repeat, not going to let the group sleep with him, but he knew it would be unrealistic to keep then on the chilly floor. He would have wanted to put some of them with Karon, but he knew that taking care of them could become a handful.

"There is one option left" he thought. "Do you guys want to do ballet everyday?"

"It would make me happy" Mytho replied. Rue and Ahiru unconsciously sighed in relief.

"Then I think I have the place for us..."

Ahiru, Mytho, Rue, and Fakir stood outside the entrance gate outlined with flowers of Golden Crown Academy.

"Let me go over this one last time" Fakir said. "Mytho and I will stay in one room."

"Rue and Ahiru will stay in different rooms" Mytho continued.

"We must wake up every morning and go to ballet class" Rue said.

"And we'll have tons of fun as friends" Ahiru added.

A man walked up from the entranceway with four cats trailing behind him.

"Greetings new students. I am Mr. Neko. What are you taking?" he asked.

"We're ballet students" Fakir answered as he noticed Mr. Neko's unusually purple, and yellow streaked hair.

"Ah, you will be learning under me then. Well, I'll be more than happy to show you the secrets of ballet" he said passionately.

"Thank you Mr. Neko" Ahiru said.

"Yes, yes, class starts tomorrow at eight o'clock sharp. Don't be late."

"And so starts the story" the voice announced. "Though it begins with love, it can easily turn out of hand. Birds may fly, but these ones will fall. Heh ha ha ha. Where will your friendship take you, Ahiru..."

 _ **The voice is Drosselmeyer. Let me make that clear. I'm looking forward to writing about Ahiru and Rue's counterparts. It might take like 2 or 3 chapters. Mr. Neko looks, as you can guess, like Mr. Cat. This is just a human imagining of him. The cats trailing behind him are the real Mr. Cat in cat form, his wife, and his kids. I forgot how many kids he has so I might change that later... Thank you for reading!**_


	3. Silver and Gold

**_Long has this chapter been avoided much to my shame. I had an idea of what I wanted, I had people waiting for me to write it, and what do I do? I wait three freaking months to get started on it. I do have my reasons though. I wasn't exactly sure what to put in there, I had to figure out what the characters would do and how they would act, I had to think of how this chapter would be important without disrupting too much of the story, I had other fanfiction chapters to write for, and finally, I got lazy. Now that you know my reasons, let's begin._ **

Chapter 3: Silver and Gold

"Raise those arms, students" Mr. Neko commanded. It was the next day, and Mr. Neko was already teaching ballet class. "Come come. More energy! Use your entire body." The dancers were lined up by the barre co-ed. All of them were beginners so they experienced difficulties with the basic techniques that make up ballet.

"Where's Ahiru?" Mytho asked Fakir.

"I don't know. I didn't see her anywhere" he answered. Suddenly a breathless Ahiru burst into the room.

"I'm...gasp...sorry...gasp...that...gasp...I'm...gasp...late!"

"Miss Ahiru; I understand that this is your first day. These things are bound to happen, but you can not be late again or else I'll have you marry me!" Mr. Neko hissed.

"Marriage?" Ahiru murmured thoughtfully to herself.

"Don't worry Mr. Neko. I'll look out for her!" Fakir shouted quickly. Mr. Neko brought his hand to his lips and then to his head.

"Good."

Once the lesson finished, the students changed into the academy uniform and were sent to a fancy lunchroom to eat.

"Why were you late?" Fakir interrogated Ahiru on the way.

"I heard someone say that the bell outside tells the time, but I didn't know what time it was. Then I asked this guy what time it was and he said it was eight o' five so I ran as fast as I could to the dance studio. I guess I just didn't run fast enough" Ahiru said as though it was nothing.

"Well next time get someone like me or Rue to help you."

"Okay fine."

"And another thing; never say yes if Mr. Neko asks to marry you." Ahiru looked at him as if he had just asked her to solve a complex math equation.

The group arrived at the lunchroom. The former birds stared at all the possible food choices before them. Unfortunately, they did not understand the mechanics of a line. Fakir sighed and got their food for them.

"Thank you" they said in unison.

"So Fakir" Ahiru began. "Do you usually take care of birds who turn into humans?"

"What? Of course not" he replied as though she were crazy.

"Where are your parents?" Rue joined. Fakir looked away.

"Not important. I have a foster father named Karon though. He took me in a long time ago."

"May we meet him?" Mytho asked.

"One day maybe."

"Come on. You tell them. I bet it'll end in a tragedy" a voice whispered.

"You're obsessed" another voice whispered. Two girls came to the table where the group sat at. One had pink eyes and purple hair in a bun held with a yellow barrette and a blue barrette. The other girl had dark green eyes and blonde hair in curled twin tails held by light pink bows on both sides.

"Hi there. I'm Pike. This is Lilie. We just wanted to say to you, Mytho and Rue, that you guys are really good dancers. Like, too good to be in the beginning class" the pink haired girl said. Rue and Mytho exchanged a look of confusion.

"Thank you" Rue said in more of a questioning tone.

"You were also pretty good" Ahiru chimed in.

"No, we're the real beginners. If we went to the advanced classes we would be kicked out of the school and Pike would never be able to confess her love to-" Lilie said cheerfully before getting cut off by Pike who covered a hand over the blonde's mouth.

"Yeah. Forget about that. Hey Ahiru, do you wanna hang with us after school?"

"Can I Fakir? Please?" Ahiru begged. Fakir felt unnerved by the cute, innocent look in her eyes.

"Will you two take care of her?" he asked Pike and Lilie carefully.

"Of course" Pike shot back.

"Fine. You can go."

"Yes! Thank you Fakir!"

The second portion of class ended some few hours later. The students were allowed free time to do whatever they wanted with the last part of their day before they go to their dorms for curfew. Fakir, Rue, Ahiru, and Mytho were just exiting the building when Pike and Lilie swooped in to pick Ahiru up. As they dragged her away, she shouted bye to them and vanished from sight.

"Idiot" Fakir mumbled under his breath.

"Fakir" a male voice said from behind them. The trio turned around to see standing a boy with brown eyes and dark blue hair. "I can't believe you came back. I thought you had quit ballet for good. I guess I miscalculated."

"Autor" Fakir said. Autor glanced at the other two.

"I see you made friends. Whom might they be?"

"My name is Rue, and this is Mytho" Rue stated. Autor looked closer at Rue and nodded.

"A pleasure to meet such a beauty" he said admiringly. Rue blushed at his words. "What are you here for?" he inquired.

"Ballet" Mytho answered rather simply.

"Ah, just like Fakir then. Where are you from? I've never seen you around so obviously you're not from Golden Crown Town. Are you perhaps residents of the city neighboring us in the north?" The birds looked helplessly at Fakir for assistance. It wasn't their fault that they didn't know where Autor was talking about.

"Rue, Mytho. Why don't you look at the fountain while I talk with Autor" Fakir suggested. As they walked away, Autor put a hand on Fakir's shoulder.

"What's the real reason you're back? And who are they really?" Fakir debated internally on whether to tell Autor or not. He wasn't exactly his friend, nor was he a classmate in dance. Honestly, he wasn't even sure how he came into his life. Fakir rubbed his temples and tried to think of an excuse to get out of it. When he thought of none, he finally sighed and gave in.

"I'm here to take care of Mytho and Rue, and also another girl named Ahiru. I don't have enough room for them in my cabin. They seem to like ballet well enough so I figured I could take them to the academy."

Autor eyed his suspiciously."Why aren't they able to answer where they come from?"

"They... they are all travelers who I picked up near one of the gates. Apparently, they all suffer from amnesia." It was a lie. Fakir did his best to make it sound casual, though he wasn't fooling anyone.

Autor frowned. "How unusual. No matter. Have you been continuing your studies of Drosselmeyer?" Autor inquired, a hint of eagerness in his voice.

"Now I remember why I met him" Fakir thought. He once had to study the creator of the land for a project in school, and Autor was all too happy to assist him. The frenzied music student lent tons of textbooks to Fakir who probably only needed one or two. Autor was not to be doubted when it came to Drosselmeyer. When the project was finished, Autor took back all the books except for one he gave to Fakir permanently, to learn of course.

"Er- I've been a little busy" Fakir admitted. Autor flicked his hair with pride and snorted.

"Be sure not to neglect him, Fakir. Drosselmeyer is a great man. You could learn a thing from him. If that's all, I'll take my leave now. Be sure to tell Rue I said good bye." With that, one of Fakir's problems left. Fakir rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the students playing by the fountain.

"Got to be more careful around him" Fakir muttered as he walked towards the former swan and crow.

 _ **Does this chapter seem short to you? Yeah there's a lot of words but not a lot of story. I was going to write more when I figured that I could probably make another chapter to fit in with what Ahiru and her little group would be doing. I also just really needed to get this chapter up (3 months is a bit of a low for me). Don't worry, this time, I made an outline. I won't forget anything!**_


	4. The First Glimpse

_**I have ideas... Many ideas... The outline was a good idea. I'm pretty excited about this chapter. I made outlines for all my other fanfics that I'm currently working on and to my surprise, I actually got more ideas. Now my feelings for writing have been renewed. The name of the previous chapter, Silver and Gold, represents the song it stands for, which is about old friends and new friends. It was a little hard to write for Autor because everything on the internet about him is so vague. Aheh. Let's just start the story.**_

Chapter 4: The First Glimpse

"So Ahiru, when did you move here?" Pike asked. Both her and Lilie were dragging the poor duck to wherever it was that they were going.

"Last-ouch-night" Ahiru answered as they dragged her over a bump.

"Wow. So soon?"

"Yeah, everything happened suddenly."

"Does that mean you suddenly had a crush on Mytho?" Lilie teased though she really was asking.

"Wh-wh-wh-how do you know?" Ahiru cried. It hadn't even really been a day yet.

"I just have that sort of power to scout out doomed love, but I want to hear about you and Mytho" she purred.

"Ummm, well, he's really handsome..." Ahiru started nervously. That's not enough she told herself. "He has this lovely smile that makes you want to like him even more."

"Ooh, sounds like you got it bad" Pike joked.

"She does have it bad Pike because Ahiru could never confess her feelings to the amazing Mytho who probably already likes someone else" Lilie sang, oblivious to Ahiru's gaping mouth.

"Don't worry about her so much. She enjoys teasing all star crossed lovers" Pike told Ahiru.

"Star crossed lovers?" Ahiru mumbled questioningly.

"Yeah, it's when two people who care very much for each other are separated by forces that some can never explain." Ahiru visibly slumped over, feeling dejected at her explanation. It didn't apply to her and Mytho, exactly.

"We're here!" the duo proclaimed.

Ahiru fell with a thud from their grasps. "Oof! Where are we?"

"The central square" Lilie responded. Ahiru got up and dusted herself off. She walked around the entire area of the circle. Beautiful colors and wandering animals were everywhere. She looked in each window, inhaled all smells, observed all the customers at the shops. This was nothing like she had ever experienced before. The lonely duck had lived in the Lake of Despair, which isn't always a very exciting place to live in, all her life.

"The central square is incredible!"

Pike dismissed her with a "It's not that special." Then she turned back to one of the shops. "Anyways, since it's your first day here, Lilie and I wanted to make you feel welcome. So, you get to go shopping for clothes with us."

"R-really? I mean w-we just met and everything and you're both being so nice to me and it's not like I deserve any of this niceness and I don't want you to waste your time with me so I just might go back to my room and stay there forever." Lilie and Pike blinked rapidly.

"Oh Ahiru! That's the spirit!" Lilie cheered, completely ignoring Ahiru's rant. "You've got to start looking at everything like it's a tragedy waiting to happen."

"She-she's serious?" Ahiru asked helplessly.

"Maybe she, maybe she isn't. All that matters is that you're with us, whether you like it or not" Pike shouted in encouragement. She grabbed the stunned strawberry blonde's hand and took her into the store.

Unlike the ballet store Fakir went to the first time, this one supplied casual ware. Lilie and Pike sat Ahiru down. Then they raced around picking out random articles of clothing. They pushed her into a changing booth and waited impatiently for her. Out she walked in a beige turtle neck with yellow cuffs, yellow shorts with feather designs on both sides, white and orange striped socks, and red shoes with orange duck feet designs on top.

"Yes! I knew going with the duck style was a good idea!" Pike shouted in joy.

"Your name does mean duck. We decided to go with that theme" Lilie added.

"I like it! It's so comfortable and stylish. I couldn't ask for anything better" Ahiru said with a twirl. Laughter filled the almost empty store.

"Okay... Let's pay for it" Pike said.

"What does pay mean?" Ahiru asked innocently. Lilie, missing the significance of the question, summarized it as her having no money.

"Oh no! Poor Ahiru is as broke as a record player. With funds that low, she'll never be able to give Mytho a gift for his birthday or the holidays!"

"B-birthdays? Holidays?!" Ahiru sputtered.

"Oh Ahiru. You'll never be able to woo him like this. I'll pay for you this time" Pike told her. Ahiru bowed her head in gratitude.

Once they paid for the outfit, the girls went to the entrance. Just when they were about to head out Ahiru spotted a ridiculous costume on a mannequin. A brown hat with various colored feathers protruding from it was set on the head of the mannequin. A dark red coat with a green lizard design on the back covered it. A pink handkerchief dangled from its neck. Along with that, another dark green coat was on it, followed by brown stockings and shoes.

"What a crazy looking outfit" Ahiru said aloud.

"That was what Drosselmeyer used to wear when he was alive. Everyone knows that" Pike spoke, perplexed at Ahiru's reaction to Drosselmeyer's clothes.

"Who's Drosselmeyer?"

"What?! Ahiru! How could you possibly not know who is?"

"I don't know!"

"Drosselmeyer, Ahiru, was a master story writer. Whatever story he created came true, no matter what. He made this land and turned it into his masterpiece. He still liked to write books though. He had a thing for tragedies. A bit unusual for a guardian, huh. Every time he sits down with a cup of tea and jots down all his ideas by candlelight. He also really liked birds. Said once that they were thought and imagination. Despite all his miraculous powers, Drosselmeyer wasn't able to keep himself from growing old and dying. He named the king a long time ago before he died, and he has ruled ever since."

"Wow..." Ahiru whispered, amazed.

"That's not all. Do you know of the war between the swans and the crows?" Lilie asked in a mysterious voice.

"No..."

"Drosselmeyer once wrote a book called the Prince and the Raven. It's about a handsome, loving, selfless prince, who is also a swan, who fights a terrible, gigantic raven that eats people's hearts. The one he most wants to eat is the prince's heart, one that can love everyone and be loved by everyone. The Raven controls hoards of crows that attack anyone they see on sight, so the prince has to use his flock of swans to protect them. Naturally they'd come to life just like all of Drosselmeyer's creations."

"Oh...that's too bad."

"Well, all we can do is hope for the prince to stop the Raven. It has been at bit of a stalemate for a while though" Pike informed her. Suddenly Ahiru turned to her friends in excitement.

"Maybe I could do something to help!"

"How?"

"I don't know, but that won't stop me from trying!"

Meanwhile, Fakir had taken Rue and Mytho to a café. Not wanting to deal with their confusion inside, he told them to wait for him while he bought their food. They sat down on a bench neighboring the café. Rue relished being with Mytho. Ever since she met him he had been nothing but kind to her. It was unlike her father in too many ways to count. It certainly helped that he was good looking. And the way he danced, it just drew her breath away. Though there was a problem. She was a crow, an eternal enemy of the swans. She could never be with him. Their love would be doomed from the start. He might even be the prince!

"These thoughts are dangerous" she thought sadly.

"Excuse me" a voice said. Rue pulled out of her thoughts to face the person in front of her. It was a girl with an anteater in her arms.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask the name of the boy" the girl rudely said to Rue. Rue brought a hand to her chest offended.

"I am Mytho" said boy replied.

"What a unique name. Mine is Anteaterina. I've never seen you before handsome. What's cooking good looking?" Mytho stared at her, unable to answer. Rue was equally shocked but recovered quickly.

"We are waiting for our friend to get our lunch. You are disturbing the peace so please leave." Rue felt the hairs on her body bristle in tension. Her eyes gleamed with a dark, hateful light.

"Hey, you can't talk that way to me! What are you, his girlfriend?" Anteaterina spat.

"If that means mate...then yes, I am his _girlfriend_. Now go." The anteater sprang from the arms of the girl and ran away in fear. It had sensed the evil aura radiating from Rue.

"Ugh no! Come back!" Anteaterina called to her pet. She went after him.

"Thank you Rue. I wouldn't have known what to say then" Mytho said to the still tense Rue.

"If you aren't able to defend yourself from commoners like her coming to snatch you away, then I'll just have to protect you. I will be your _girlfriend_ and you respectively will be my _boyfriend_. That way you'll be safe. Understand?"

"Yes."

Fakir came out with their food in small bags.

"Fakir. Mytho and I are girlfriend and boyfriend now. It is to protect him from anyone that tries to take him away from us" Rue informed him. "Mostly from me" she thought.

"H-how do you know about that? I never mentioned anything about dating" he said staggered.

"Anteaterina was trying to get Mytho to be her mate. That's how I found out" she answered briskly.

"Her? I guess I could see her being attracted to him. Alright, you have...my...permission to date Mytho." Rue smiled in satisfaction. Maybe they could be together this way.

"Now we'll be together Mytho" Rue rejoiced. All he could do was nod and give a small smile.

"Let's find Ahiru now. You can eat on the way" Fakir commanded. As they walked, a small black feather flew from Rue and landed completely unnoticed on the path behind them.

"The story progresses as our characters gain a little more depth to their personalities. A jealous crow will only spell trouble for the rest of their troupe. How long will you be able to hind your evil tendencies, Rue?..." an old voice croaked in anticipation.

 _ **And end of chapter. I enjoy writing an evil Rue. I realized that I'm going to need to fix some spelling mistakes in the earlier chapters. I'll do that when I finish the story though. High five for lazy tendencies! You know, there was something else I wanted to say but I just can't remember what. When Ahiru has to pay for anything else in the story, I'll just give her a magical unlimited amount of money. Same for Rue and Mytho. That's what they seem to do in the anime anyway. Can't wait for next chapters! See ya!**_


	5. The Past Reawakens

_**I am really lazy so this was kinda hard to write after a while. I know it's long overdue though. I'm at an exciting part and I'm leading up to some more so yay! Yup, my favorite part of writing Princess Tutu fanfiction is the transformations of the characters, specifically two females. Heh heh. Enjoy this slight filler cause there's more good stuff coming up...**_

Chapter 5: The Past Reawakens

It was only a few moments before Ahiru, Lilie, and Pike came swinging around a corner. Rue, Fakir, and Mytho jumped at their sudden appearance. Ahiru was wearing a peculiar outfit and shouting random words while Lilie and Pike smiled and nodded. Pike noticed the former trio first.

"Oh hi guys. We have Ahiru here. Want us to give her back?"

Fakir answered with a gruff "yes." They casually shoved her to the group in front. Caught by Mytho, Ahiru blushed at their contact.

"Bye see you tomorrow!" Pike and Lilie shouted. They walked around the corner and vanished.

"They are so nice" Ahiru said aloud. Rue and Fakir shifted their eyes to the side.

She marched ahead of the trio and commented on everything she saw on their way back to the academy. By then Mytho too was distracted, Rue was tuning out, and Fakir was about to burst a blood vessel.

"Okay Ahiru we get it! The town is really interesting. Enough already! Everyone go to your rooms, no complaining" Fakir snapped. Ahiru mouthed his words behind his back, reverting to her innocent cheery self when he turned around. The former birds were sent to their separate dorms and nothing was heard after that.

The next morning, the friends woke up and met at the fountain from the day before. Ahiru being the uncoordinated duck she was came late.

"I'm sorry for being late!" she cried as she raced there. Fakir tapped his foot and glared.

"You need to stay on time. If you don't practice punctuality, Mr. Neko will," Fakir shuddered. "Demand that you marry him."

"You're such a stick in the mud Fakir." Ahiru made a face.

"You both are right. Now be quiet so Fakir can tell us what he wanted to say" Rue said sternly. Fakir grunted in agreement.

"Since you had requested to meet my father Karon, I thought you could meet him today. It'd probably be better to be introduced sooner than later so we do not surprise him. There are rules for when you talk to him however. You will not tell him that you used to be birds, you will not do anything birdlike, and you will not mention anything about anywhere outside the town. You will say that you were travelers who I found at one of the gates surrounding the town. You will all pretend to have amnesia so you don't have to make up any stories."

"What's amnesia?" Ahiru asked curiously.

"It's when you lose your memory."

"Such as this?" Mytho asked. He stood still while staring ahead with a blank expression.

"Yeah... that'll be good enough" Fakir answered.

He took them deep into Golden Crown Town. They went down many twists and turns before arriving at the Smith's shop.

"A smith shop?" Rue asked aloud. Fakir didn't answer her. Instead he held the door for them as they walked inside. Armor and weapons lined the sides of the narrow hall. Chests that most likely held more of the previous items were stacked everywhere. There were no lights to lead the way except for one in the room at the end of the hall. The room held a furnace and a table inside. A gray haired man sat at the table, polishing a fine-looking sword.

"Hello Karon." The middle aged man turned around.

"Fakir! It's nice to see you again. What brings you here after so long?" The three former birds stepped forward.

"This is Mytho, Ahiru, and Rue. They are new students at the academy."

"So you have gone back to the academy. Are these friends of your then?"

"Karon!" Fakir whined with a light blush on his face.

"Yup!" Ahiru replied, " We're his friends. At least I think that's what people call it. Fakir is so nice to us that we have to be friends."

"Shut it Ahiru" Fakir frantically whispered.

"Isn't it true though, Fakir?" Mytho questioned.

"No! I-I mean yes! Ugh, just be quiet."

Karon chuckled silently at their exchange. Rue raised an eyebrow at his suspicious behavior. Karon smiled at her before his face began to drop.

"Ah Fakir. I regret letting you quit ballet if I had known you would make friends. You shouldn't be alone for long periods of time. It's not good for your health." Fakir narrowed his eyes.

"It was my choice to make and I made it. I didn't want to do ballet anymore. I chose to be alone. My health has nothing to do with any of it." Karon and Fakir locked in a stare-off, green eyes never moving from each other. Finally Karon looked away.

"I'm just glad you're with company again. Now then, are either of these lovely ladies a _special_ friend of yours?" Fakir's face instantly erupted into a red mess.

"N-n-n-no! Not ever! Romance is for the weak! How can you ever ask me that?!" he cried. Ahiru smiled in a cheeky way.

"I wouldn't be romantic with Fakir anyway. I'm Mytho's girlfriend" Rue replied haughtily.

"Oh really?" Karon smiled at Mytho with an amused expression while the latter made it pretty clear he had no say in any of this.

"Thank you for stopping by, all of you, but I must get back to work. I have a large order of armor to take care of. From the King's Army. You know how long it takes to do anything for them."

"We understand. Thank you for having us. We shall leave then" Rue answered much to the surprise of Fakir.

"Yes, we will. Good-bye... Karon."

"Farewell" he called, turning back to the fine-looking sword. Fakir ushered the others out before taking a glance at Karon one last time.

It had grown late by the time they came out. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon. A flock of swans soared across the sky. Mytho looked longingly above, and exhaled a held breath. Rue, startled by this sudden change of pace, looked up also. She stared at the birds. Then turning back to Mytho, she hugged him.

"I wish..." he said in a quiet voice. Fakir and Ahiru watched him.

"I wish that the war would finally end." Rue and Fakir turned their heads away. Ahiru, still new to the whole matter of war, went to him and held his hands.

"Don't look so lonely. Just smile. You're with friends." The rest of the trio watched her in a stunned gaze. Ahiru tried to get their reassurance, but failed. They did not want to give their compliance to such a meager request.

Ahiru teared up at their silence. Nothing from Mytho either.

"I just wanted to make him smile" she whispered. Then she ran away in shame. She didn't know where she would go in this strange town. After a few bleary minutes, she stopped at a random street. A single tower and some houses lied ahead of her, adding to the solemnness of the situation. Ahiru sniffled and wiped away her tears.

"Crying won't do any good" she said to herself.

"Indeed it won't" a voice replied. Ahiru spun around, scanning her surroundings for the source of the voice.

"You will not find me there" it said again. Ahiru tilted her head upwards and yelped.

A colossal elderly man had taken up the entire sky. He had Persian orange eyes with four black ringlets that led to a white pupil. His hair was so gray it was almost white. It flowed in long, curling locks with one specifically draped over his right shoulder. He had a beard that was melded into three points. His sharp nose accented the creepy smile on his wrinkled face. A wide brimmed hat exposed the hair near his forehead. He wore white gloves that covered his massive hands. To Ahiru, a giant had graced her lonely presence.

"Who are you? W-what are you?" The man chuckled and brought a gloved hand to his chin.

"I'm afraid you'll have to figure out who I am on your own. I might give you a little hint later. What I am is none of your concern. Now, I could not but help hear of your plight. The one with the boy Mytho I presume?" Ahiru blushed angrily. "Ha ha ha I thought so. And all you wanted to do was bring a little cheer to his empty heart."

"Mytho's heart isn't empty!" Ahiru argued.

"Oh of course not. I must be mistaken. He could not possibly have an empty heart. You must have wanted to put a smile on his face then, eh? With him so despondent about the war between the swans and the crows, he doesn't really have much of a chance for happiness." Ahiru mulled over the words in her head. It did make sense for his odd behavior.

"Oh..." she muttered.

"Do not fret small duck. I have a present for you. To make the boy's life a bit brighter, I give to you the power of Princess Tutu."

"Princess Tutu?"

"Princess Tutu, a ballerina prima donna with the ability to convey emotions to others. An automatic dancing genius so you will not have to worry about your skill under transformation. Do as I say and weave for me a wonderful story."

The man pointed his hand in Ahiru's direction. A rosy transparent swan materialized. It flew to the strawberry blonde below. As it came closer, Ahiru could see it holding an amulet the same color as the swan in its mouth. The swan hovered above her and lowered the amulet onto her neck. It disappeared into multiple shards that disintegrated into a fine dust.

The clothes on Ahiru's body melted away. Her surroundings turned into a strange water that did not drown her human form. The amulet was brightly glowing. Numerous yellow feathers encircled Ahiru as she instinctively drew herself into the fetal position. The feathers formed a perfect egg. On the inside, Ahiru's long braid shortened itself into a bob with white feathers and a mini golden crown which rested on top of her head. The freckles on her face magically vanished. A leotard with fabric armlets came that grew into a dress with a pink tutu underneath along with small yellow wings that were attached to light blue ribbons that were somewhat akin to tails. There was a golden, beaded bracelet on each one of her wrists. Pink en pointe ballet shoes covered her feet. Her amulet morphed into a dragonfly styled necklace with three jewels in the middle and wings that rested on the front. It hung from a single, smooth gold chain. A bundle of sparkling light drew closely to the yellow egg. The egg changed into water that bursted as Ahiru brought herself up. She twirled around before finally raising her arms into fifth position, illuminated by an unknown spotlight. She abruptly opened her eyes.

"What happened?" Ahiru lowered her arms. She checked out her new outfit, awed by its beauty.

"I made you into Princess Tutu" the old man answered back. "You may do as you wish with this transformation but I warn you not to tell anyone of who you are. Great harm will come to you if you disobey that warning. You must also not speak of your love to your special prince charming for if you do, you'll disappear into a speck of light."

"What! I'll vanish!"

"That is the price you will have to pay to achieve a great story." The old man cackled. He faded away until he was gone.

Tutu did not move from her spot. Her transformation released and she was back to being Ahiru again.

"Oh... this is so confusing. I don't even know who Princess Tutu is. Or that weirdo. I'm just a duck. I can't really be a graceful swan, dragonfly ballerina. I can't even do the five positions. How can I make Mytho happy? I couldn't even coax him to smile. Maybe I should just forget about all of this." She fingered the amulet. It sparkled a brilliant red. "Well it's very pretty. I guess I can keep it for now." Ahiru placed it under he school uniform so that it would look like it was part of the outfit.

Ahiru, feeling better now, walked back the way she came. She stepped into an open square.

"Ahiru!" a voice shouted. It was Fakir, running with Rue and Mytho. Ahiru mentally prepared herself for the scolding she knew she was going to get. "You stupid bird! You can't just run away like that. You could have been kidnapped or something! We got worried about you."

"This is a dangerous place Ahiru! You can't go alone!" Rue added.

"I know. I'm sorry." Ahiru hung her head. Fakir lightly hitted her on the back.

"We're going back to our dorms now." Rue eyed her but said nothing. They walked past her. Ahiru did not immediately begin moving. Mytho faced her. Slowly, he embraced her.

"Thank you, for trying to keep me carefree." He released her and moved on. Ahiru stared into space, a warm glow on her cheeks. She raced to catch up with the rest of the group. Her final thought before getting to them was wondering why the outfit on the elderly man looked so familiar.

"Our heroine gains the power to combat the void in the prince's heart. True she may not understand her purpose, but she will learn. After all, practice makes perfect..."

 _ **Done! Finally! Persian orange eyes? That was the color so I had to be exact. You try making an accurate portrayal of Drosselmeyer. And the blue ribbon thingies on Tutu, I have no idea what they really are. It doesn't say anywhere. I'm also trying to show Fakir's tough side, Rue's "I'm so amazing that I'll act aloof" side, and Mytho acting like he doesn't really have a heart from the anime. The problem with that is that he doesn't get much character development and pretty much goes along with anything said because he doesn't have a heart so it's going to be hard to try and write him as an interesting character with so little to go off of while still being true to all the other characters, for example, Fakir. Ah well, you're all just here for the story anyway. P.S. Really loved writing Ahiru's transformation scene. I used inspiration from the promo trailer and the actual anime.**_


	6. Stories-Zura

**_Hello everybody. I've been ignoring you again. I'm sorry. I've made another Princess Tutu fanfic called Black, White, and Golden Feathers about Mytho and his love for Tutu, and only Tutu. I really seem to have a thing for feathers. Whatever. Good feelings await~_**

Chapter 6: Stories-Zura

The next day, the group went to ballet lessons. Rue and Mytho quickly accelerated to some of the best dancers in the class, along with Fakir who was already there. Mr. Neko was so impressed he moved them to Advanced class. Ahiru on the other hand, still struggled to find to her strength and remained in the Probationary class. They all still practiced in the same room so they were never far from each other. The period finished for the time.

"Congratulations for getting promoted guys! I knew you had the talent to do it!" Ahiru praised Mytho and Rue.

"Thank you Ahiru" Rue replied. Fakir petted Ahiru on the head unexpectedly. She looked up at him and gave a silly smile.

"Come on let's go" he said.

"Just a moment Mr. Fakir" Mr. Neko called out.

"I need you and Mr. Mytho to help me find ring for this lovely lady I have been courting lately. It is always good to have a second and third opinion on such a matter. A ring is the one step before marriage so I need to find the perfect one in case my lady says yes!" Fakir and Mytho looked at each other.

"I'm not sure Mr. Neko. I don't want to leave the girls alone. They're still learning the layout of the town."

"Relax Fakir. Rue and I can handle being on our own. We know how to get back to the academy. We're just going to hang out." Rue nodded in agreement. Fakir sighed and turned to Mytho.

"I have no objections" he stated.

"Okay Mr. Neko. We're coming."

"Excellent! We'll leave for The Ring Emporium at once!"

Ahiru took Rue to the street outside the academy gates.

"Isn't this great Rue? We get to finally have some time alone together. I've never had girl time before."

"Neither have I. I do not have any relations with the females of my flock. My father says it is better to focus on strategy than talking with others not as important."

"Oh yeah I forgot. You're a crow so you're trying to win the war against the swans. That means that you're fighting Mytho. Oh..." Rue frowned.

"Yes. He is my enemy. Thank you for bringing that painful memory up."

"Ahh...sorry." They trekked on in silence. "So" Ahiru said. Rue glared at her from the corner of her eye. "What do you think of being human?" That took Rue by surprise.

"Well, it is quite peculiar, interesting really. I'm so used to having feathers cover me that I find it hard to see myself as the human girl in the mirror. I wonder how my flock is doing, how my father is."

"I'm actually really glad to be a human because I got to meet you, Fakir, Pike and Lilie, and Mytho. I was so lonely before. Now I have friends who are even birds like me!" Rue smiled at her joy.

"Interesting."

A faint sound wafted over the air. Light, high pitched music traveled to the pair along with loud, distant tapping. A woman with mint green hair in a beehive hairdo with two curled pigtails on each side of her head walked with an organ grinder along side a tiny girl with matching hair color with a mini drum hanging on her. The woman wore a short, yellow and orange one piece suit with orange ruffles at the bottom. On the top was a purple waistcoat with an accented mulberry collar. Three tassels located at the end hung on it. The woman had a white puffy skirt with a pattern of mulberry and blue stripes. She wore a detached arm sleeve with white ruffles on the top and lilac at the end, yellow material in the middle. Her shoes were black flats. A pink flower choker encircled her neck. There was blue eyeshadow on her eyelids, pale pink circles of blush on her cheeks, and a darker pink on her lips.

The tiny girl on the other hand had a large tuft of hair in the middle of her forehead. The rest of her hair was curved upwards on both sides of her head. She wore a red overcoat that had a white center and a small red flower on her chest. There were yellow ruffles on her white sleeves. She had inflated mulberry and blue striped pants with white ruffles where her legs came out. Pale pink slippers not unlike the woman's were on her feet. The drum hanging from her neck was red with pale yellow triangles coming up. She had two drumsticks in her hand. Both the woman and the girl had porcelain skin and dark blue eyes.

"Who are they-zura?" the tiny girl pointed at the pair.

"They are newcomers dear" the woman responded.

"Um hi there! We're travelers from outside the wall! Uh, we also wanted to say that your music sounds lovely!" Ahiru called to them.

"I never said that" Rue hissed.

"Come on Rue, it's polite to say you like something. Besides, it truly did sound nice." Rue pouted slightly and turned her head away. The little girl ran to them.

"You really liked my playing-zura?"

"Of course we did! I've never heard instruments like that before anyways so that must mean it's good" Ahiru grinned.

"Just because you have never heard certain instruments doesn't mean that they sound good" Rue muttered. The girl stared at Ahiru intently.

"Hoooooo~!" The mint green haired woman reached them.

"Come back now Uzura." The girl ran to the side of the woman.

"I'm sorry. We never officially met. I'm Ahiru and this is my friend Rue." Rue watched the woman from afar.

"I am Edel. You have already met my daughter Uzura."

"Nice to meet you Ms. Edel. What was the instrument you were playing?"

"It is called an organ grinder. This particular one was playing The Dance of the Automatons." Edel stroked her organ grinder absentmindedly. "The Dance of the Automatons is from the ballet Coppelia. It is about puppets coming to life. I find it a favorite of mine. Uzura enjoys it too. The apple does not fall far from the tree."

"Mama, show them your gemstones-zura." Edel hummed as she opened a contraption in her organ grinder. Shelves were revealed. Rows of gems sparkled in the light.

"How exquisite" Rue said aloud, her eyes hovering over them. Crows were known for collecting shiny objects.

"May I ask why you have all these gemstones?"

"I gather gems and trade them for others. Each has a story behind and each person who gifts them to me has a story to add. A story's birth is a sudden event. The start, a happy accident. The end, the fate for which it's meant. A story that never ends is a cruel thing." Ahiru and Rue stared at her confusedly.

"Mama speaks riddles-zura. Riddles make prophecies. Swans and crows and ducks have prophecies-zura. Swans and crows and ducks are lovey-dovey Mama said. What does lovey-dovey mean?" Uzura prattled. The former birds raised their eyebrows.

"Prophecies... crows and ducks and swans?" Rue repeated.

"Lovey-dovey?" Ahiru laughed nervously.

"Uzura, we must get going now. I hope you enjoy your stay in Gold Crown Town. Perhaps we will meet again in the near future" Edel said.

"Bye Ahiru and Rue!" Uzura began tapping her drum again and Edel winded the organ grinder, the music playing again. They vanished into a fog that mysteriously appeared from nowhere.

"They are quite odd" Rue said at last.

"I think I agree."

Ahiru and Rue walked aimlessly, but came to the central square. They talked with each other about what was their favorite food and whether resting on a body of water was more comfortable than resting on a perch. They decided to wait in the central square for Fakir and Mytho. Chances were that they'd see them after coming out of the Ring Emporium. They waited patiently as the sky dimmed. Exhaustion took over and soon they fell asleep, leaning shoulder to shoulder with their heads touching. They were later awoken by gentle, shaking hands. Ahiru opened her eyes to the soft face of a certain boy.

"Ahh. Mytho." She blushed.

"Fakir says that it's time to go back to the dorms now, Ahiru." His warm eyes were only on her which was such a gift after a long day.

"U-u-u-uh-um, sure." Fakir had taken to waking up Rue. She came to groggy. She rubbed her eyes and watched Mytho help Ahiru up. Her chest tightened.

"C'mon crow. We don't have all day" Fakir said with his hand out. Her eye's shifted back to Fakir. She stood up on her own and lifted her nose at him.

"I do _not_ need your assistance." He crossed his arms and turned to Mytho and Ahiru.

"Are you ready?" They nodded.

They went back to the academy silently except for the chatter Ahiru caused. She asked the boys what rings were and which ones they liked. Fakir had answered that he did not like jewelry and was overall rather nervous around the subject. Mytho had said that he saw a red ring that reminded him a lot of something he couldn't remember.

"Maybe it will come to me at another time..." They ended up at the fountain once more. It was the last crossroads before they left for their dorms.

"This is it for the night then" Fakir said.

"Well, good night" said Rue.

"Hold on!" Ahiru grabbed everyone and brought them into a bear hug. "I'm so glad that I met you all. I want to get to know you more. Let's share some wonderful experiences." Rue and Fakir were taken aback by her forwardness. Kindness was rare and affection almost unheard of. Mytho was the first to raise his arms around Ahiru. Rue followed and then Fakir. It was a source of warmth in more ways than one.

They released their grasps on each other's arms.

"I'm going to sleep now" Mytho said. Fakir went along with him.

"Aren't you coming to bed Ahiru?" Rue asked.

"Oh, I'm going to stay a little longer here. I'm not very tired."

"Suit yourself." Rue went inside the girls dormitory. Ahiru sighed contently. Happy days were ahead. Ahiru whipped her head around to make sure the coast was clear. So far so good.

"Alright. Let's see what this is really about." Ahiru took out her pendant. "Princess Tutu huh? I don't really know what she's about, what she is supposed to do anyways. That old man said that I could convey emotions to others, whatever that means, and that I could make Mytho happier. But how? I don't know what makes him smile. He likes to dance, I know that. He also cares about others. Alright, I know what I can do but I need to learn how to use my power." The pendant glowed brightly and Ahiru was brought into an egg. She burst from the egg, water bubble as Princess Tutu.

"Ahh. How lovely this feels. I feel as though I can dance and dance without ever stopping." Tutu lifted her arms. She put her feet in fifth position. Her left leg flew up and hit the ground just right. She leaped across the stone gracefully and did a grand jeté. She pirouetted. Her right arm raised to the air. She did an arabesque, the smile never leaving her face. Her arms fluttered up and down in a wing like movement, her feet moving in a sous-sus. She spun rapidly with both feet on the ground.

Rue sat silent on her bed. She was still thinking about Ahiru.

"Ahiru's been out there for a while now. I wonder if she's gone inside yet." Rue got off her bed and looked out her dorm window. Her mouth dropped open. A large ethereal swan with a small crown on its head was dancing around the fountain she and her friends were gathered by some time ago. As she watched it closer, it transformed and revealed itself to be a girl dancing.

"Who is she? Why is she dancing so late at night? How is she so beautiful and strong yet appears so delicate?" The girl below spun around once more before stopping. She curtsied and ran off into the night. "How unusual that was. She seems like she was part of the swan domain but I've never seen a swan as large as her before. Maybe she was a royal. Maybe she was married to the prince! The prince... could he really be Mytho? Could she really be with Mytho? I'm getting carried away. This was just an accident. Nothing to fret over... I hope Ahiru got back safely." Rue went back to bed without another thought. Meanwhile, Ahiru ran to the dormitory and flew to her room.

"Wow, that was amazing! I've never moved so smoothly. I should stick to reverting to my previous self in private. Don't want to let anyone find out who I am like the old man said heh heh." Ahiru yawned. "Boy I'm tired. Can't wait to hit the pond-oh I mean bed. Please let me dream of my handsome prince Mytho!"

"My my the story has progressed a tremendous amount. The duck has truly become Princess Tutu. The crow girl has seen her no less. We also can't forget the seller of gems and teller of riddles Edel and her darling daughter Uzura. How will they play into this tale? Oh ho what is going to happen..."

 _ **Ha ha I'm finally done. This took a lot longer than I expected. I don't have to tell you all the reasons but in summary it was homework and family. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I used some of Princess Tutu's choreography from the opening credits and some from Odette's actual dance in Swan Lake so kudos for me. Stick with me people cause a lot more interesting stuff is going to happen and I'm going to continue to try and improve my storytelling skills. I promise I'll work to shorten lapses in updates. Thanks again for all your support and keep being awesome!**_


	7. Beauty's Stage

_**Remember when I said that I'd promise to shorten lapses in updates? Yeaaaaaahhhhh...So here we are now. The main reason that I didn't really do so much writing was because I was trying to create my very own original story. First chapter's not even out yet, but it actually seems worth the effort, so I'm not totally remorseful about missing the fanfiction. Though, I missed this story and all your love. Ha ha ha, I should just start the chapter now. Ok, I'll relieve you all.**_

Chapter 7: Beauty's Stage

Mr. Neko asked for the morning class to stay a few more minutes later the following day.

"Attention everyone. I have some very exciting news for you. I am overjoyed to tell you that we have been granted permission by the headmaster to attend the ballet of Sleeping Beauty, put on by the traveling show Eleki Truppe tonight!" Everyone gasped and began murmuring among each other. Ahiru, Mytho, and Rue looked at Fakir questioningly. "Quiet down, quiet down. Now, I know we haven't ever studied Sleeping Beauty before, much less even listen to the music, but I believe that you can not truly appreciate a ballet if you just watch the performance with tons of thoughts jumping in your heads." Mr. Neko twirled around and struck a pose. "No, you must discover the plot through the dance itself. That is the true purpose of ballet; to convey story through the most beautiful of dance!" He did a final jump, awaiting the excitement of the crowd. They only stared blankly at him. He immediately stretched in catlike way, embarrassed at the silence.

"And if any of you do not come to the show, I will personally see to it that you marry me!" Mr. Neko's cats meowed a battle cry and shooed the students out of the studio.

Outside of the studio, Rue brushed purple cat hair from her tights. "Felines. I've never liked them. Always scaring the prey. Honestly, their carcasses are the only good thing that comes out of their existence."

Mytho gently smiled at her. "Come now Rue. They are beneficial to the environment, even if they do eat birds. We mustn't judge a species based on what they eat for we all need a certain nourishment."

Rue rolled her eyes. She had noticed something in his words though. "What about the Raven? He consumes hearts; is he to be judged as a terrible being?" An aching feeling lodged in Mytho's chest; a sharp dagger of disappointment. "It's not the same with him, Rue. He chooses to do these unspeakable actions. He actively seeks to devour the emotions and lives of others when he could very well eat other things. To quench his hunger in a way that could be avoided, it is evil."

Rue tsked in stubborn denial. No matter what the ex-swan said, she would oppose him, for the love of her father and her flock. Though what he claimed did hit rather close to home...

Ahiru glanced between the two of them, quite aware of the tension in the air. She turned to Fakir instead.

"So Fakir..."

"What?" he grunted.

"What is Sleeping Beauty about?" That got the attention of the two arguers.

Fakir nonchalantly answered, "You're going to find out tonight so why bother asking now?"

Ahiru pouted. "But I-I mean we, know nothing about it. We're never going to be able to follow the story if we just focus on the dance."

He frowned at her. This duck never seemed to stop jabbering. "That's the whole point, idiot. Like Mr. Cat said, you have to find out the plot through the symbolism in the dance. I suppose I should at least give you an idea on what will happen though."

"Thank you Fakir," Ahiru cheerfully decreed, almost unintentionally trying to annoy him. Almost.

"So the basic run down of it is that an evil faerie gets angry when she isn't invited to the birthday party of a princess named Aurora. She curses the princess to die when she is sixteen from pricking her finger on a spindle, a sewing mechanism on a spinning wheel. Another fairy who happens to be a guest at the party weakens the curse so that the princess will only sleep for a hundred years along with her court until her 'true love' comes and kisses her. That's all I'll say. Any more and I'd just be ruining the play for you."

"I pity the princess, Aurora. To have no control in her fate, it must be miserable," Mytho contemplated aloud.

"Oh I'm sure that it's a fate that you yourself will become quite familiar with," a mysterious voice chuckled from the oblivion. It was however unheard by anyone. "Hmm, let's push that first piece into motion..."

Suddenly, a woman collided into an unsuspecting Ahiru.

"Quack!" Ahiru lost her balance and teetered forward into the open arms of the stranger. The pumpkin-eyed stranger picked up the poor girl bridal style.

"Oh goodness. I apologize for that. I wasn't looking where I was going." The woman had short, grayish brown hair that ended below the tip of her ears. Her lips were a colorless pink. She wore a grey leotard with a thin red x crisscrossing in the middle. Her skirt matched the color of the x, tied up with a small ribbon on the front. A white jacket hung around her shoulders. She definitely gave off the aura of a dancer.

"Ah it's okay. It happens a lot more often than you know," Ahiru laughed in uncomfortable familiarity.

The woman placed Ahiru back on her feet.

"Thank you miss...?"

"Paulamoni. Or should I say Mrs. Paulamoni." The woman chuckled softly. "It's a delight to see the locals going about their day. Are you students of the Golden Crown Academy?"

"We are as a matter of fact," Rue answered in a curt manner. "And you?"

"I'm with the traveling show, Eleki Truppe. I'm the lead role." The group gasped.

"We are going to see the performance tonight," Mytho told her.

"That's wonderful. You must be the ballet students then. What a pleasure it is to meet you. I'm glad I decided to walk around town. Looks like that rabbit noble I fed gave me more luck than I thought."

"Rabbits? Luck?" Fakir mumbled to himself. The three former birds shared a look between each other. It wasn't uncommon knowledge that the rabbit kingdom were luck bringers and that if you were kind to one, they would give you good luck in return. However, it was not in a person's best interest to talk about it for the gift would go away after mentioning it.

"So are you excited for tonight?"

"They've never seen a real ballet before," Fakir stated, clearly becoming done with the whole situation.

"Never? That's rather odd, isn't it? Either way, you'll absolutely love it. Since I was lucky enough to chat with you all, you can all have a backstage tour. Paulo will be ecstatic!"

"Thank you Mrs. Paulamoni," the group said in unison.

"Of course. I better get going now. I still need to practice for tonight. Good-bye then!" Paulamoni gave a small wave. She walked off.

The group went to their dorms after that. They were all throughly exhausted. They needed their rest for the show tonight. Rue went to sleep with nightmares of her father's displeasure regarding her disappearance. Mytho dreamt of the end to the black and white war, with peace settling across the land, finally. All the while, Ahiru did not go to sleep. She questioned the purpose of Princess Tutu, even more so the reason she was a human. It was clear to her that some unknown magic was in play. She just hoped that it wouldn't hurt her, or her newfound friends. Instead of these troubling thoughts, Ahiru used her last moments of consciousness to think of Mytho, holding her with loving, steady arms.

Of course, it wasn't too long before Fakir came to get them all. They ex-birds trudged behind him, some more tired than others, to the local theatre. Tan cushioned seats lined all parts of the inner chamber with a stage at the head. The red velvet curtains covered the stage. The teens found a few empty seats near the front and settled in. Lilie, in the back, hollered to Ahiru a greeting, much to the embarrassment of Pike and the girl being called on. Ahiru weakly waved back at them, praying that Lilie hadn't disturbed the rest of the audience. Autor moved down the aisle and sat in the row behind them.

"Hello Rue," he said to Rue. "It's lovely to see you."

Rue glanced back and smirked. "Likewise," she said. Before he could say anything else, the ballet began.

It was the most marvelous experience Ahiru ever had the pleasure of experiencing. "Look at how beautiful they are," she whispered to Fakir. He raised a questioning eyebrow, but otherwise kept his slight frown. Ahiru sighed in dreamy happiness. The graceful dancing was incredible. The story, the costumes, the choreography! She sighed again.

Suddenly, the lady Paulamoni came out as Princess Aurora. The crowd gasped in quiet amazement. She wore a white tutu that formed a star with a pale gold outline and two matching swirls on the chest. The rest of the tutu was light pink with white ruffles on the edges. Her legs were covered in white tights with more pale pink at the bottom as her pointe shoes. On her arms were gold armbands with the pink ruffles on them. Her neck was enclosed by a star-like gold collar that coincided with the crown on her head. She was gorgeous, a being radiating beauty.

As Paulamoni danced with the four other men on stage, she tripped over herself and wavered in her dancing. Her face momentarily changed to one of anxiousness. Ahiru stared closely at her. Was she nervous? Her momentary lapse suggested so.

"You can do it, Miss Paulamoni," Ahiru silently cheered. As Paulamoni kept standing still, a man not dressed in a costume got her attention from the side of the stage. Ahiru almost missed him if it hadn't been for Paulamoni turning her head. The man gave a thumbs up and blew her a kiss. She smiled and mouthed a thank you. With that, her confidence was restored once again.

The show eventually ended and the curtains closed. The audience stood up and applauded. After that, the teens made to congratulate the cast members. Paulamoni and the man from before were holding a bouquet of roses together.

"Good job, Miss Paulamoni," Ahiru said with a huge smile.

"Thank you. This night was made even more special with you all here," she replied. The other three blushed slightly. "And I couldn't have done it without the encouragement of my loving husband," Paulamoni said to the man.

"Yes, what would you have done without him," the man echoed sarcastically, kissing the prima ballerina on the forehead.

"Oh Paulo."

Paulamoni turned her attention back to her guests. "I almost forgot. I still promised to have Paulo give a backstage tour. Could you be a dear, Paulo, and do that for them?"

"Of course my love," he answered, motioning for the others to follow him. Rue and Ahiru silently sighed at their loving banter. If only they could have that with their certain someone...

Paulo began leading them deep into the depths of the theatre, but Mytho halted them to point up at the rafters.

"Is that a canary up there?" he asked.

"Good eye. It is a canary. A baby one actually. He's our troupe pet. We put him in his tiny nest above the stage to help us break a leg, more or less."

"Break a leg?" Mytho said in shock.

"It's a saying that means good luck," Fakir quickly explained. He nodded, understanding then.

"Well come along," Paulo continued. Rue and Fakir moved forward with him, along with Ahiru who started trailing after them, but Mytho stayed in his spot. His eyes would not leave the place where the canary was. He scanned the area and found a steep staircase that led to the dangerous ceiling. He climbed up, ending on top of a beam that led to where the baby canary was. Ahiru, who had went to look for him, watched as he walked to the bird. He bent down and took out some seeds from his pockets.

"Here," he said to the small avian. The little canary peeped and hopped to take the food. Alas, the poor bird lost his balance and tumbled over the beam. Mytho stretched his arms and brought the yellow puffball to his chest, unluckily losing his balance too. They free fell to the floor below.

"Mytho!" Ahiru screamed, terror paralyzing every part of her body.

"Yes, embrace your role as the heroine of the story, champion of the prince's heart! Become Princess Tutu and unleash my beautiful tragedy!" an old voice declared. Ahiru's pendant shone brightly, and she transformed into Princess Tutu. Vines appeared from her pirouette, springing her into the air. She took one of Mytho's free hands and twirled him upright, spun them both around each other, and brought themselves close as she did an arabesque midair. Mytho stared at her, his eyes a mixture of fear, confusion, awe, and curiosity. His emotions did not stop him from wrapping an arm around his savior's waist, to which she did to his neck.

They landed gently to the ground, Mytho revealing the canary in his hand. The duo gazed into each other's eyes, never letting go.

"Thank you," Mytho finally said. Tutu smiled.

"You're very welcome, my prince."

Mytho's eyebrows rose up and his mouth opened agape. "How did you know? Are you..."

"Mytho! Are you alright?!" Fakir shouted, running over with Rue and Paulo. They gasped when they saw Tutu.

Paulo squinted. "A giant swan? Is that actually the prince?"

"It's the ballerina from before," Rue said in disbelief. Fakir glanced at her before turning to the stranger. Tutu took a step back and released Mytho, his hand sliding off her own. She ran away from the onlookers, terrified.

"Wait! Please!" Mytho cried.

Tutu hid behind a wall when she was far enough. She put a hand to her chest in hopes of easing her uneven breaths. She de-transformed back into Ahiru.

"What did I do?" she whispered. "I danced with him, Mytho...my prince. I was seen though. What should I do?" Ahiru felt her pendant. "I'm just a duck. I'm getting ahead of myself here. Mytho doesn't need me. Who would need me? Except...I saved him. I danced with him in the air! It was wonderful." She giggled, blushing wildly.

"I suppose I do have some use as Princess Tutu then. And I get to be a masterful pointe dancer! Maybe, it's worth hiding it from my friends. If only to help Mytho. Alright! I'm ready for anything. I am Princess Tutu, the prince's prima donna!"

 _ **Yes! Finally done. The characters have finally seen Princess Tutu. Ooh I'm so excited. I hope you appreciate some of the references I made to the anime. Or maybe you won't. Who's to say. Now excuse me as I get to my other Princess Tutu fanfic. Mwahahahahaha! P.S. I finally noticed that the proper way to continue a quote is to comma it. OOPS.**_


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